Tolerating No Rivals
by Dichotomus
Summary: In the original universe Grunkle Stan's twin brother, Stanford Pines, hid his journals so that 30 years later Dipper would find Journal #3. In this AU, Grunkle Ford decided to switch the hiding places of Journals 2 and 3. Who knew just that tiny change would cause Dipper to lose his mind? Reverse!Dipper Pinecest.
1. Chapter 1

Well, here is my second fic. With my first fic I had the beginning and end all planned out before I started posting it. However, I am embarrassed to admit that I don't really know how I'm going to end this one just yet. This being the case it is possible that updates may be sporadic till I find time in my life to make a solid plan for this fic.

Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls; Disney does.

Hell, I can't even claim to own the idea of Reverse Falls: I think the concept originated from some mad genius on tumblr (at least that was the first place I encounter the idea).

Summary: In the original universe Grunkle Stan's twin brother, Stanley Pines, hid his journals so that 30 years later Dipper would find Journal #3. In this AU, Stanley decided to switch the hiding places of Journals 2 and 3. Who knew just that tiny change would cause Dipper to lose his mind? Reverse!Dipper Pinecest.

Title: Tolerating No Rivals

Chapter 1: The Amulet

* * *

Dipper knew the instant he saw that fish freak give his dear Mabel her first kiss that he was going to make it suffer greatly before allowing it the sweet release of death. Dipper felt his grip tighten around the amulet. He could feel its power begin to build within him. It was very tempting to fry the fish that dared defile sweet Mabel's lips immediately. That action would certainly impress upon Mabel that she had better pick rivals for him that were strong enough to contend with his power.

But, no: a quick death for Mermando, the fish freak, was a mercy that the freak did not deserve…and such action would cause undue distress to sweet, innocent Mabel. Dipper knew that bubbly girls did not like watching their boyfriends get murdered in front of them. He may not understand the sentiment in his heart, but he knew it with his brain. Dipper scowled as he forced his hand to relax.

 _No, not yet. Soon I'll strike down the entire merman species for the sins of this disgusting abomination before me. I'm going to boil the whole lake so that their entire damn city becomes their tomb. Mothers will throw their infants onto the shore in hopes some kind hearted fool will save them._ Dipper felt an honest smile form on his face.

 _I guess I'll just have my faithful slave, the multi bear, patrol the lake. I might just order him to snack on a few of them. The thought of all those whores watching their little monstrosities get eaten as they themselves are boiled alive: it's just too_ _ **delicious.**_

Then a thought stopped him: what if Mabel found out? Mabel could forgive a lot, but out right genocide?

 _No, my sweet, beautiful Mabel would not condone that. Even if they are subhuman filth._ Dipper sighed. _It was such a good plan too, but it would be much too easy to link it to me: most of the paranormal species of Gravity Falls know that the multi bear is my slave and of my magical powers. All it takes is one witness, and rumors of my slaughter would spread like wild fire. Word would eventually get back to Mabel. I need a more elegant plan. A war perhaps? Wars happen all the time. No one would know for certain it was me to cause it, though many of them would suspect. I could research the aquatic politics of the lake: turn a strong species against the mermen. Then in the ensuing war I could kill Mermando with my own two hands. The chaos of the war would cover my tracks. It's a start. I'll need the make a list and encrypt it when I get back home._

Dipper noted a deliriously happy Mabel approach him from the pier. He pasted a false smile on his face. Normally, Mabel would see through such ruse, but in her present state she was too happy to see the truth.

 _Oh, if only I were the cause of that happiness. If only I could taste the sweetness that is Mabel._

"Thanks for helping me rescue Mermando, broseph," Mabel gave Dipper an enthusiastic smile, "I realize you're risking your chance to spend all summer working with Wendy for Mermando's sake."

 _I didn't do it to help that freak. I did it to get that freak away from you. And I'm already spending plenty of time with Wendy at the Shack. Sure, the pool job really cemented my ploy to get everyone to think I'm crushing on her, but now the job has served its purpose. So there is no really loss even if Pool-check fires me. By this point everyone in Gravity Falls thinks I'm in love with Wendy. No one even suspects that I picked her because I knew she would never say 'yes' to a 12 year old. She is but a helpful smokescreen. Wendy may be beautiful, but she is not the subject of my desires. Not a soul knows of my true desire, and so it will remain till I find a way to get you to accept my love._

"Think nothing of it, sister dear," Dipper felt his smile thinned a little, but he kept it in place none the less "It was the right thing to do. I couldn't say no to you."

At least the last part was true. Dipper felt slimy for implying to dear Mabel that doing anything but killing Mermando was the 'right thing' to do. The only right thing to do to Mermando was burning the flesh from its bones as Dipper forced its thrice damned mother to watch.

 _Calm down, Dipper. Mabel may be distracted by the misplaced affection she feels for that damn fish, but even she would notice if you start raging in front of her. Even if that rage is justified, she would fail to understand._

"C'mon, if we hurry we might be able to return all this stuff before Pool-check arrives," Dipper said even though he knew Pool-check would already be at the pool waiting to rip him a new one. _Like I care about a bunch of pool junk._

* * *

Pool-check's face turned bright red as he screamed at Dipper, "I leave you in charge of the pool for ONE night, and what do I find in the morning? ANARCHY! Complete and utter anarchy!"

 _Time to act like the Dipper everyone expects,_ "Please, give me another chance! I need this job…"

 _Crying would really complete the picture: think of Mabel's face when you almost cost her Waddles during the fair. The fair's plan was one of my more foolish ploys to convince everyone that I 'loved' Wendy. Ninety percent of that plan was wasted on time traveling, so the only one to truly be convinced was Mabel cause she was with me. All that effort to convince one person, I can be such an idiot._

 _Back to the point: think of Mabel's sad, sad eyes. They were so empty without Waddles. Utterly lacking the life that made Mabel, Mabel…and there it is._

Dipper felt tears prick his eyes, "What would I do if I don't have the pool job to spend time with…"

Dipper didn't have to finish: Pool-check knew. Everyone in Gravity Falls knew.

 _What complete and utter fools. The only thing I'll miss about the pool job is seeing Mabel in that cute, little, pink swimsuit. And even that was soured by being forced to what that little shit pretend to be all mysterious and flirt with her….breathe, Dipper, you're performance isn't over._

Pool-check's face softened, and for a second Dipper thought his manipulation was too effective— _oh, no. He isn't really going to let me keep the job, is he? I mean look at all this: it's a disaster. The pool will be so boring now that Mabel has no reason to come._

Pool-check opened his mouth to speak, when Soos made his attempt to free the floaty ducks, and Pool-check almost popped a blood vessel.

 _And once again Soos unwittingly saves the day_.

"Hand over your whistle, boy!" Pool check held out his hand, face hard.

Dipper pretended to give it up with regret. _You can keep your dumb pool, you psychotic old man._

Pool-check popped the whistle into his mouth and started crewing, which was actually kind of hilarious, but Dipper did not allow himself the luxury of laughing. _The Dipper everyone knows would not laugh after losing the chance to stare at Wendy's sexy red swimsuit all summer, so therefore I won't laugh._

Dipper kept his head down as he left the pool grounds. He had to pretend to be downcast at losing his job.

"Sup, doofus, you'll never guess what happened. I just got fired. Pool-check found out I was taking too many snacks," Wendy was awesome as always.

Dipper didn't have to pretend to be happy to hear that. _Now I don't have to fake sulking for a day. Thanks again, Wendy. You know in another universe I could have easily fallen for you for real. You're gorgeous with an awesome personality. If that magical amulet didn't open my eyes to what I really wanted, if I never received its power: I might have spent all summer pining for you. But I did find journal number 2 near that fake tree, and within it was the location to my precious amulet._

 _At first I hesitated to use it, but when the gnomes tried to steal Mabel away from me, I had no choice. When I used its power to cripple the gnome leader and scatter the minions before me: I guess I found that power to be addicting. The first time I used the amulet, its power was overwhelming; it was intoxicating. And then Mabel pulled me into what she thought to be an awkward sibling hug. That hug pulled me higher than anything I've ever experienced. The amulet's power had heightened my senses. I could feel everything: the softness of Mabel's homemade sweater, and the softness of her budding curves underneath._

 _When the time came for our customary awkward double pat: I could not bring myself to do so. I only clutched her closer to me. I lacked self-control back then. I guess it was providence that I didn't know or understand the depth of my need for her or else I might have attempted a kiss._

 _As it was I only held the hug for 10 seconds too long: I could tell when I finally let the hug end that I had weirded her out: she couldn't meet my eyes. Her soft, brown eyes eluded my own. She had this adorable blush on her cheeks. It looked good on her, but she couldn't look at me. I knew I had to cover up my over reach; at least until I could find a way to make Mabel mine._

 _Which brought me to you, Wendy: you are perfect crush material. You are desirable, yet completely unattainable. I know that you will remain just beyond my reach for years to come. Most boys go through a phase of the 'unattainable crush,' so not a soul thought it odd when I started pretending to take an interest in you. And you've preformed perfectly: you've been friendly, while at the same time never reciprocating my apparent adoration. It is the perfect balance, so that I can continue to pine away. If you had not been friendly enough, people would wonder why I had not given up after a week. And if you had responded too positively, I might have accidentally found myself with an older girlfriend. Either way, my plans for dear, sweet Mabel would have been complicated. All I needed was a cover, and you, Wendy, are the perfect cover._

Dipper and Wendy continued chatting as they headed away from the pool, but Dipper's mind was elsewhere. It was one of the many gifts of the amulet: his ability to multitask had greatly improved. To every observer, Dipper appeared completely engaged in conversation with the laid-back girl; however, Dipper was also thinking about potential sources of information on the lake's aquatic politics.

 _My journal may have something on aquatic species—I just need to know which species is the most aggressive—but it probably won't include anything on the lake's alliance network. I guess I'll just pick the most aggressive species, and cast a covetous curse upon them using a black magic ritual. I wonder if there is a way to ensure that they'll target mermish territory. Perhaps a focusing array can be added into the original curse._

Dipper bid good bye to Wendy as they went their separate ways: Wendy was heading into town to hang out with her friends, and Dipper was going to the shack to get working on his just revenge. Honestly, Dipper couldn't even remember what they were taking about.

* * *

Mabel burst into her and Dipper's shared room an hour later, giddily clutching several bottles to her sweater clad chest, "Its official, Dipper! I am going to have a pen pal boyfriend for the rest of the summer. It's not as nice as having a real boyfriend, but, oh well, it's still totally romantic….what are you doing? Some nerd thing?"

She was half way through the speech before she noticed Dipper's….unusual morning activity. Before her laying on the ground was a huge poster board, and painted on said board was an extremely detailed and complicated magic circle. Dipper looked up from his magic journal and his work on a list which was probably written in some code or ancient language.

 _He started doing that code thing some weeks ago: shortly after he got that journal he obsesses over and that big gem he thinks I don't know about._ Mabel hated that code language: her brotwin was keeping secrets from her and that just wasn't right. Twins were never supposed to keep secrets from each other. _I don't know why he thinks he needs tah hide things from me: I'm his twin sister. Nothing will ever make me stop lovin' him: even if he is currently knee deep in black magic in the one city on earth where that stuff might work. Seriously, if a fundi Christian ever saw Dipper's little art project, they would tots think he was tryin' to speed dial Satan or something._

"Oh, hey Mabel," Dipper set his (probably cursed) pen down along with his encrypted list upon the night stand and stretched on his bed, "I just wanted to do some esoteric research on the ancient art of magic circles. You know: for academic purposes."

"Really, now? Cause it looks to me like you're actually trying to make a magic circle. What's it gonna do?" Mabel knew Dipper wouldn't give up the goods willingly. So when Dipper opened his mouth in what Mabel knew would be some stupid twin-secret-keeping denial, she pounced. Quite literally.

Mabel leapt on top of Dipper with an exclamation of excitement and straddled his hips holding his hands above his head, "No denying your nefarious plots, _brother dear_." Mabel added emphasis to addressing Dipper as a way of saying: _yes, Dipper, I have noticed those small changes that are beginning to get quite weird. Especially, the 'sister dears.'_

"Now tell me what the magic circle is for, or else," Mabel threatened with a cunning smirk on her face.

"You don't even know what 'nefarious' means; now, get off me, Mabel!" Dipper demanded, a nervous sweat was starting to form on his forehead, "You don't know what you are doing." _This is such sweet torture, but it must end now or else Mabel is bound to notice…inappropriate reactions._

"Not until you tell me what the magic circle is for," Mabel's smirk thinned a little.

"Never!" _I can't just tell her it is to precipitate the destruction of her boyfreak's species. Somehow I doubt she would be amused by that: even if it is hilarious._

"Oh, so you think you have a choice in the matter, _brother dearest_ ," Mabel knew she was in the driver seat in this conversation, "I guess I'll just have to show you why I'm 'boss Mabel.'"

Mabel released Dipper's arms, but before he could do anything to push her away, she jetted her hands down to Dipper's armpits and started wiggling her fingers back and forth, "Tickle, tickle, Dippingsauce!"

"What? No! Not that!" That was all Dipper could squeak out before the assault began.

"No-Hahaha! Stop—ha—it!" Dipper was choking on his laughter. One thing was certain: Dipper's enjoyment of Mabel's hips being pressed against him was greatly diminished.

"Tell me the truth!" Mabel repeated her demand.

"Fine!" At Dipper's acquiescence Mabel's hands stilled, but she kept her hands in place to renew her assault should Dipper change his mind, "It is to crush my enemies under the weight of their own despair! I will scatter them for the affront they have afforded me."

A look of utter surprise appeared on Mabel's face. Her hands which had been poised to start tickling again fell away from Dipper's sides as she sat back on her haunches (Dipper was so focused on Mabel's face, he was only partially aware of the position that Mabel's shift in weight had put them into).

"But…Dipper, you don't _have_ any enemies. Least of all anyone who has 'affronted' you, whatever that is supposed to mean," Mabel was genuinely confused then an idea struck her, "You aren't going to really attack Robbie, are you? Robbie is a jerk. It's only a matter of time before Wendy realizes it. I don't think Robbie's worth the use of black magic of all things. Remember last time you used paranormal stuff to fight him. Rumble McSkirmish ended up turning on you."

"That was because I didn't understand Rumble's honor code," _Honestly, who devotes his entire life to fighting 'bad guys' solely because they are bad guys? I tell a few, little lies to get Rumble to put Robbie in his place and Rumble finds out, and suddenly I'm the bad guy. Rumble was too much of a fearless meathead to be a good minion anyway. Rumble didn't understand that even if he beat me in single fish fight; I would inevitably win the war. The first thing I did upon losing in some lowbrow brawl was go to the arcade and fry the_ _Fight Fighters_ _arcade box. What's the point of having a minion that would dare defy me? Better to kill the impudent fool along with his entire universe than risk him defying myself a second time._

Dipper was speaking as he thought this, "On the other hand I know magic. I know it very well. There's no way for it to backfire on me. Magic doesn't have a will of its own: as long as one has sufficient knowledge on how to mold it, it will ever obey the caster."

A dark, intense look enter Dipper's eyes, "And I will not hesitate to use it to achieve my own ends, Mabel." Dipper continued to look into Mabel's beautiful, brown eyes, "Nothing will stop me from getting what I want, sister dear."

Mabel was made extraordinarily nervous by being on the receiving end of such a look, "Just be careful not to do something stupid, like raising the dead or something." Mabel shifted her weight nervously and it was at that moment that she and Dipper realized one very awkward detail: Dipper had definitely had that inappropriate reaction that he had been concerned about earlier.

Mabel flushed bright red and froze, "…Is that?"

"…Yeah," Dipper felt himself flush as well, but his embarrassment stemmed more from the fact that his usually ironclad self-control had been lost rather than actually regretting the position he and Mabel were in.

Dipper expected Mabel to leap off of him as if he had spontaneously combusted, but to his surprise she remained on top of him. Her flushed face was inscrutable to him, he could only guess what was going on behind her eyes.

* * *

Disgust, embarrassment, and something Mabel didn't have a name for warred in Mabel's heart. Her heart was hammering away. _Oh gawd, this totally trumps the awkwardest moment of awkward sibling moments…and Dipper is_ _ **still**_ _staring at me with the darkest eyes I have ever seen on him. What is that look in his eyes supposed to be?_

Mabel was not one to ever be out matched so she stared back without even blinking. If it were even possible, Dipper's eyes got even darker. It was then that Mabel recognized the look in Dipper's eyes.

 _Desire. Holy crapnuggets. That is desire. Not even Mermando ever looked at me like that._

Then a second thought crossed Mabel's mind: _why am I still on top of him?_

Upon thinking this, Mabel's body finally reacted by leaping off of Dipper.

"Whelp, I'm gonna go read Mermando's letters," _While in sweater-town. Yeah, time in sweater-town, while reading my boyfriend's letters will totally help me forget about—Nope, I'm not even gonna think it._

Mabel gathered up her bottles as fast as she could, and made to leave.

"See you around then, sister dear," Dipper tried to speak calmly, but there was a tremor in his voice.

"Bye, Dipper," and again Mabel couldn't meet his eyes.

Dipper turned back to his research. The moment on the bed had only hardened his resolve to torment and kill that damn mermaid.

 _After all, how dare it try to take my Mabel away from me. She is mine and I will not tolerate anyone or anything that tries to challenge me in that arena._

* * *

End note: And there you have it. Dipper is definitely not the same Dipper we all know and love.

This is a Dipper with power. One that isn't going to refrain from using it.

Here's the thing about crossing the line: once one has crossed it, there is no way to measure how far beyond it one has gone.

Dipper crossed the line weeks ago, and now he can't even till you in which direction the line is.

Will this be a story about Dipper's redemption or a story about Dipper's damnation? Not even the author knows the answer to that question (but it would be hilarious, if when Dipper reaches hell, he punches Satan in the face for daring to sit upon Dipper's throne [that was a joke]).


	2. Chapter 2: Preparations and Plots

Sorry about the super long delay. I have good reasons for it. About a month ago I got accepted into a very demanding school. Preparations for attending involved moving and a heck of a lot of work. Then a week after moving classes began and I caught a nasty cold/fever.

This new program may eat my life, so updates may only come around holidays if at all. I hope this isn't the case, but be warned.

To give you an idea of how much this college ate my life: I had over 2000 words of this chapter written by 7/29, and it wasn't until today that I had time to sit down and finish it.

Tolerating No Rivals

Chapter 2

Preparations and Plots

Dipper slipped away in the early evening. It was easy to do so unnoticed: Grunkle Stan was busy planning a new attraction with Soos, and Mabel had been avoiding him all day since the incident involving awkward reactions to her beauty that morning.

Dipper sighed to himself as he walked deeper into the woods. _It shouldn't bother me this much. Mabel does not yet love me the same way that I love her, so it's only natural that she would be weirded out by my reaction to her. But some day she will come around. She must…eventually. I just have to wait and be on guard. I know that foolish, weak boys will naively attempt to come between us. I will crush them just as I'm going to crush Mermando._

Dipper felt his anger grow as he thought of Mermando stealing Mabel's first kiss away from him.

 _That kiss was rightfully mine. I've sacrificed enough for it. That fish spent a few weeks trapped in a pool, and it thinks it has suffered enough to deserve the reward of Mabel's affections. It makes me sick. I have done more for Mabel than that fish could ever hope to do. Mabel's love is mine and mine alone!_

Dipper took off his hat now that he was alone and swiped his hair back in an effort to calm himself. But Dipper was not foolish enough to think that after he had dealt with the fish freak Mabel's affections would be secured.

 _Mabel is by far too beautiful to attract only one suitor. Soon men will be falling for her everywhere she goes. They will lust after her beauty. They will desire to taste her lips and run their disgusting, unworthy hands through her soft curls._

Dipper felt bile rise in his throat as he imagined those damnable curs pawing after his Mabel. He was sick with anger.

 _And soon we will reach an age when those sick freaks will want more than just the favor of my sweet Mabel's lips. They will want to use her for their sick, sexual needs. They'll want to use and discard her. Mabel is so perfect that they might even resort to violence to have her._

Suddenly and completely unbidden by Dipper the image of a faceless man forcing himself upon his Mabel as she cried out in pain and fear entered his mind. White hot rage destroyed his meticulously maintained self-control, " **I'll fucking kill them all!** "

Dipper blinked. It took a moment for him to realize that he had screamed that out loud into the now deathly quiet woods. Dipper panted heavily as he fought to calm himself. The air came out in choked gasps.

 _It will never happen. I'll never let it happen. I'll kill every man on the planet before I let it happen._

Now somewhat calm, Dipper had enough presence of mind to take notice of his surroundings. Apparently in his rage he had called upon the power of the amulet and had spewed flames in every direction. Several bushes were on fire now.

He had been practicing elemental magic a lot recently. He could never get fire spells to work though.

 _Well, I guess all I needed to get fire to work is be completely consumed by anger and hate. That method is utterly worthless. The only magic worth using is magic that is under perfect control. Still…I guess it would be useful if I were ever alone and surrounded by a pack of wolves._

Dipper clutched the amulet in his left hand, but as he raised his right he noticed something. Touching his face, his fingertips came away wet.

Tears. Tears were weakness.

Dipper was disgusted with himself. _I stopped crying a long time ago._

Dipper angrily wiped his face with the back of his hand, before raising it and whispering, " **Aqua fluminis**."

With that water started to flow from his hand with ease. Water and ice spells came much more naturally to him. With a steady stream, Dipper made short work of the flaming bushes. Then he went over them all a second time to make sure the ashes would not spring back alive after he had gone.

Losing control even while he was alone was terribly embarrassing to Dipper.

 _You're better than that, Dipper. What would Mabel think if you started setting shit on fire every time you got angry? If you ever want to be worthy of Mabel's love then you had better improve your self-control. Anger must be controlled. Sadness must be controlled. Hate must be controlled._

 _Without control I'll be just like—_

There Dipper stopped himself.

 _Focus on the mission._

Dipper pulled out his journal and flipped to the page of interest. _The Shadow Stalker: It resides in a cave at the very center of area B to the west of the lake. It is old, very old. Quite possibly it is the oldest thing in Gravity Falls. I am uncertain what its true form is as it is always surrounded by shadows even in broad daylight, but I am certain of one thing from my limited interactions with it. It possesses a knowledge of the world that is unmatched._

And so Dipper walked deeper into the woods. He needed that knowledge if he was ever going to exact his vengeance upon Mermando.

 _The covetous curse is almost ready, but I'll need the Shadow Stalker's knowledge of the lake to know which species to cast it on._

* * *

There was the cave which matched the drawling in his journal.

 _This must be it._ Dipper thought to himself as he strode confidently into the cave.

Just as he pasted the threshold, complete and utter darkness consumed him. This was the case even though there was still light of early dusk outside the cave's mouth.

 _I guess I should have expected some darkness based magic from a being known as 'the Shadow Stalker.' Luckily I came prepared for traveling back at night._

Dipper set down his pack and pulled out a candle and a lighter. Grunkle Stan was much too cheap to invest in flashlights and batteries, so when the power goes out they light a dozen fire hazards instead.

Raising his now lit candle high, Dipper ventured deeper into the cave. He turned a corner and suddenly the light of his candle feel upon a skeleton of a clearly demonic being that was fused with the wall of the cave.

Large horns protruded from its forehead and sharp teeth lined its gaping maul.

 _"How_ gauche _," Dipper snorted to himself, a small smirk on his face, "You're gonna need to try harder than that to scare me away, Shadow Stalker!"_

Dipper pressed on with his head held high.

* * *

The cave was much deeper than Dipper first expected. He had been walking about 10 minutes when the tunnel opened up into a large cavernous space. And there in the very center of the room was a shadowy figure. It appeared to be resting though Dipper could not make out its actual shape. Was it humanoid or monstrous or somewhere in between? Dipper could not even render a guess as to its true form.

The author was always reliable: the shadow stalker's appearance was a mystery to all.

Dipper approached it and found that even though his candle light shown directly on to it, the creature remained cloaked in darkness.

"Why have you come to me, Dipper Pines?" The creature spoke in a soft rasp. It sounded male, but then again maybe all of that species spoke in that voice.

Dipper blinked. _It knows my name, but then again this is a creature famed for its knowledge. I suppose it shouldn't be surprising that it knows of me already._

"I've come to gain knowledge, and I am prepared to pay in precious metal for it," Dipper reached into his pack and pulled out a sack of gold nuggets. _What my legal guardian doesn't know about cannot be confiscated. Grunkle Stan uses wealth to get what he wants, while I use many means to obtain power which in turn gets me much more than just what wealth alone ever could._

"I see you have been working your gnome slaves extra hard in the old gold mines. It has been many decades since anyone has found a speck of gold in that place. I wonder: how deep did they have to dig to find just one nugget? How many died to fill that sack?" the creature whispered its questions.

"Don't concern yourself with how the gold was obtained. Is it enough to purchase what you know?" Dipper remained focused on the task at hand.

"You think knowledge can be bought with silver or gold? Foolish boy, I trade only in knowledge. You can only purchase what I know by giving me what you know," The rasping voice chuckled to himself.

"Surely you don't need the knowledge of a twelve year old. Twelve year olds are notorious for being wrong about almost everything. Gold on the other hand is always valuable," Dipper wanted the creature to buy his bullshit. He _really_ wanted it to buy his bullshit.

"You are a rising power in the land where Gravity Falls. In the short time you have been here you have subjugated many species. You have committed genocide against the wax people. You have alienated Gideon Gleeful from your sister Mabel when it became apparent that he sought more than friendship. You have exorcised the ghosts of Dusk to Dawn. You have defied and humbled the Manotaurs while enslaving the Multibear. You have cloned yourself dozens of times. All the while you knew that your clones could only last a short while before dying horrific deaths. You and your sister freed President Trembley and in doing so gained more power here. You traveled through time to win the heart of a girl, before giving it all up to see your sister smile. You have fought Rumble McSkirmish in hand to hand combat before you destroyed his entire universe. You have insulted the Summerween trickster just to spite him, and when he threatened your sister you possessed your Grunkle's servant, Soos, and had him eat the trickster alive. You captured and subdued the GrimGoblin, and when it failed to serve you faithfully you used its own power to drive it insane with grief and fear. I think I very much want some of your knowledge, dark and yet not dark one," The creature knew much of Dipper's activities in Gravity Falls.

 _Damn, I'm at a disadvantage here. It knows too much about me, while I only know what the author knew of it. Which is next to nothing. It seems reasonable though. As long as we are playing by the same rules I should get what I want._

"Since we are exchanging knowledge for knowledge," Dipper put away his pouch of gold, "I propose that we exchange question for question. I ask one and then you ask one till one of us is satisfied. Agreed?"

"I will ask the first question, mortal. It is my birthright," the creature demanded.

"Very well then: ask away," Dipper knew he would not win that argument, so he didn't even try.

"I already know why you came to Gravity Falls: your Grunkle Stan took custody of you and your sister after the sudden death of your father who passed from this earthly realm shortly after the death of your mother. My question is this: how did your parents die?" The creature queried.

"My mother died in a car crash. Father died from alcohol poisoning and sleeping pills," Dipper answered quickly, "My turn: who are allied to the mermaids of the lake?"

"The mermen are allied to the dolphins," the creature responded, "On the night that your mother died, did your family living situation change?"

"Yes, what speci—"Dipper was cut off.

"Yes and no answers are not sufficient, boy. You must elaborate: how did your family change?" The creature demanded.

"My parents had been separated for a few years. I lived with…him, and Mabel lived with mother. When mother died, Mabel came to live under _his_ guardianship," Dipper was angered by the creature's digging, but he knew he had to play the game to defeat the freak, Mermando, "What species are the strongest in the lake?"

"The manatees are the most powerful of the lake. Their strength is coupled with intelligence. Their armies dwarf all others. However, the sharks too are powerful. Though they lack strategy," the creature answered, "How did your father take the sleeping pills on the night that he died?"

"The sleeping pills were ground up and dissolved in his beer," Dipper replied, "Who is allied to the manatees and the sharks respectively?"

"The Manatees are allied to various small fish species. This alliance has less to do with aid in battle and more to do with the manatees wanting access to the fish territories. The sharks have no allies at all," The Stalker answered, "Why were sleeping pills dissolved in your father's beer?"

"He put them there, of course. He thought dissolving them would make them work faster," Dipper spoke calmly.

Suddenly the creature's shadows exploded outward and filled the whole chamber, " **Do not dare to lie to me, mortal. Because you have lied I demand you answer as many questions as I desire before you get your next question. Lie again and I will eat you while you yet live!** "

Shaken though he fought not to show it, "Very well," he spoke into the darkness, "I did it. I dissolved all his sleeping pills into his 6th beer. I did it ahead of time, so that when he asked me for it the poison was ready. My only regret is that I couldn't make him suffer before death. I had to make it look like an accident, so it had to be an overdose. He died peacefully in his sleep, the fucking bastard."

"Why did you kill your father?" the next question came.

"He beat me every week for 2 years," Dipper said through gritted teeth. This creature didn't deserve to know about how he disposed of that man nor did it deserve to know why that man deserved to die, and damn did these questions enrage him.

"I sense that the answer you gave is only a half truth: tread carefully, boy. You are already on thin ice. Why did you kill your father?" The shadow stalker rasped.

Dipper clenched his jaw and glared. Damn that thing for demanding this information in payment for lying! If Dipper knew this would be the price of lying he would have walked away as soon as he got asked about how the pills ended up in his father's drink.

 _I could destroy this creature. The amulet has yet to fail me: but the Shadow Stalker is an unknown enemy. I spent days studying the Manotaurs before I knew how to defy them. Failing to kill the Stalker would end in my own death….I'm cornered, and that fucking pisses me off._

"You want to know why I killed my father? Fine **, I'll fucking tell you!"** Dipper felt rage course through his veins as he shouted, "That piece of shit was looking at Mabel! Mabel didn't notice, but I noticed. The way his eyes lingered on her; the mere thought of it fills my veins with lava! I knew that it was only a matter of time before that sick fuck would hurt her—" Dipper broke off for a moment panting to regain control.

"My precious Mabel…," Dipper continued in a whisper, "She and I went to the same school even though we lived in separate homes. Every day Mabel would skip up to me at lunch or during recess or in the halls that morning dressed in her beautiful sweaters, and she would smile at me, and in that moment—no matter how bad the drunken beating was the night before; no matter how badly my bruised ribs hurt—I found the strength to face reality. Mabel smiled at me and so I could hold myself together for at least one more day."

Dipper's face darkened, "And that bastard was going to take Mabel's smile away from me. He was going to hurt her so badly that she would never smile again. He may have even been planning to hurt her in ways that would make my suffering pale in comparison. So he had to die, and for Mabel I would do it again."

"I am satisfied…" The creature spoke, "I now know you, Dipper Pines: I already knew that those who try to take power from you did so at their peril…but now I know a deeper truth. To threaten your power is foolish, but to threaten to take Mabel from you guarantees death. I am satisfied. You may go."

"But I still have questions about the lake peoples," Dipper started.

"You already have all you need to strike at the Merman who was suicidal enough to cross you, Dipper Pines. Go in Peace, and may your knowledge bring your enemies low," The creature was adamant.

Knowing that any further questions would be ignored, Dipper turned and made his way out of the cavern.

* * *

Dipper trudged out of the cave to find the sun very low in the sky. It would set long before he made it back to the Shack. But Dipper was not concerned with walking through the dark. Dipper knew that darkness itself was nothing to fear. It was what lurked hidden from his eyes that of which he should be wary. Unknown quantities were something to be sought out and understood. When he first arrived in Gravity Falls, everything was an unknown quantity. Everything was a threat.

The first thing he did was observe Grunkle Stan, Soos, and Wendy. Those three were always in the Shack, and so they had the most opportunity to hurt Mabel. Should any one of them shown themselves to be untrustworthy, then he would just have to kill that one. If all of them showed themselves to pose a threat to Mabel's safety, then he would just have killed all of them. Mabel's safety was at stake. A few deaths is a paltry cost to insure Mabel's wellbeing.

Luckily it hadn't come to that: Stan, Soos, and Wendy would not purposefully harm Mabel (that was the conclusion of Dipper's analysis), so Dipper allowed them to live.

 _I was so focused on assessing those closest to Mabel, that I almost missed the real threat…Norman. When Mabel introduced him as her boyfriend, I knew I had to get rid of him. I tried talking Mabel out of dating him. I told her he was too old for her, but she wouldn't listen. I was so very angry. Not at Mabel, never at Mabel. I was angry with myself for failing to convince her. And what was worse, I lacked the power to protect her. I was in such a rage that I stormed into the woods to vent my frustration on unfeeling trees, and that was when destiny intervened. I found the book that led me to the amulet which gave me the power to save Mabel from the gnomes._

And that amulet allowed him to except that he could not live without Mabel. It also gave him the power to keep her forever. Someday Mabel will realize that she needed him too. Dipper just had to keep her close till that day came.

But before that day could come Dipper had to protect Mabel from the filth, and in this moment the filth was Mermando.

 _The cost of knowing how to strike Mermando was high. I may have to eliminate the Shadow Stalker. It knows too much about me. All it takes is one of my enemies tracking the Stalker down, and I just know once they know what the Stalker knows Mabel will be in danger. Most of my enemies are intelligent enough to know not to use Mabel to fuck with me, but all it takes is one stupid enough to try._

 _The Stalker is unlike anything I've faced before: I must be cautious. Good thing is that the Stalker is an enigma to all. The only reason I knew where it was located was because of my journal, so it will probably be some time before anyone thinks to find it and question it about me._

 _First eliminate Mermando, then figure out how to neutralize the Stalker._

And in order to destroy Mermando, Dipper knew just how to do it. Power plus intelligence was much better than power alone. Thus Dipper knew that the Manatees were the better choice over the sharks.

Once the covetous circle was augmented with the focusing array, Dipper would turn the Manatees against the Mermen. Both species were too proud to back down, so war would be inevitable. The bloodshed would be beautiful.

Everything Dipper did for Mabel was beautiful. Dipper knew this.

And one day Mabel would know this too.

Once she was his and his alone to have and to hold.

And not even death will be able to take her from him.

Dipper smiled, "I'll kill anything that tries to harm my Mabel. That includes Death himself."

* * *

And end chapter. I hoped it was worth the obscene wait.

Don't forget to leave a review of what worked and what didn't.


	3. Chapter 3: Mabel's side

Hello, my readers. You can thank Thanksgiving day for this update. Its the only reason why next week was light enough that I had the time to finish the final third of this chapter. I think this chapter turned out awesome, but then again I have been working on it for like 2 months, so it really should be.

I promised one of my earlier readers that I would stretch my brain and try to do a Mabel chapter. Here it is. Feel free to give my blunt feedback on how well I captured the essence of Mabel. She's a tough cookie to understand on a 'author in her brain' kind of way.

Chapter 3

Mabel's side

Mabel was beginning to get frustrated. She spent all day trying to keep her mind off Awkward Moment #1. She spent the morning in sweater town reading Mermando's letters in his cool accent of course. Or at least she was tried to, but every time she thought she had filled her brain with the coolness that is Mermando's mysterious voice and relishing the memories she had of him Dipper's dark, dark eyes would invade out of NOWHERE and Mabel would find her heart hammering in ways that Mermando's letters could never accomplish.

 _Heck, my heart didn't race that much when Mermando kissed me._ Mabel had thought to herself as she tried to read Mermando's 4th letter.

 _First kisses are supposed to be way more exciting than sibling play fights. Like if they were sports, they wouldn't be on the same field: crapnuggets they wouldn't even be played at the time of the year. First kisses would be like baseball played in the heat of summer and sibling play fights would be hockey played in the dead of winter. Yet here we are: I have a hockey team playing baseball against a professional baseball team AND THE HOCKEY TEAM IS WINNING! The Blargh is up with that?_

When it became apparent that her boyfriend's letters would fail to take her mind off of the look in Dipper's eyes— _Reading quietly never was an activity I enjoyed anyway—_ she decided to distract herself by rotting her brain on TV.

* * *

Mabel settled contently into the worn out sofa, and flipped on the tube. However, a problem with that plan arose quickly: the TV room was between the stairs and the kitchen. Dipper was upstairs: what if he decided to get a snack?

Mabel knew in her head that when Dipper got hyper involved in academic nerd crap, he tended to skip meals, but darn it she couldn't keep herself from constantly glancing at the stairs wondering when Dipper would come down. Watching TV was meant to distract her from thinking about him, yet here she found herself thinking about him anyway.

Mabel groaned loudly to herself. _I just wanna watch some T.V. without constantly wondering what Dipper is up to. Is that too much to ask for?_

Then Mabel had an idea: if the location of the T.V. was causing her to wonder about Dipper's eating habits, then why not move the T.V.?

And that was how Mabel found herself watching T.V. in the down stairs toilet which has been out of order for longer than she'd been alive. Grunkle Stan never used it, and so had never told Soos that it needed fixing. Besides, why buy parts for a toilet when the one upstairs works just fine?

Reception in the toilet was terrible, so Mabel found herself force to stick the rabbit ears out the window in order to watch another dumb marathon of Ker-prank'd episodes.

As Mabel settled onto the hard toilet lid a thought occurred to her: _Maybe I'm over reacting to all this jazz. I mean Dipper_ _ **is**_ _a preteen boy and health classes_ _ **did**_ _say that these things do happen. So Dipper got a hard on while we were half wrestling together. It doesn't mean anything. Yeah, we'll just pretend it didn't happen and blammo I'll have my twin back!_

Then Dipper's needful eyes flashed across her mind. _I'll start pretending this didn't happen tomorrow…yeah…tomorrow everything will be back to normal._

* * *

It was in the midafternoon that Mabel abandoned the sanctuary of the out-of-order restroom for several reasons: for one Justin Ker-prank was only funny in small doses. The marathon had gotten repetitive after the first episode, the second reason was that toilet seats grew slowly more uncomfortable the longer you sit on them (and Mabel's butt was killing her by that point), and the third reason was that she was hunnnnngggrrrry!

 _I'll just grab a quick snack, the tv guide, and a pillow: no sweat. I definitely won't run into Dip—_ it was then that Mabel turned the corner into the kitchen and saw Dipper bent over and rummaging through the fridge.

 _I just had to jinx it, didn't I?_ Mabel found her eyes glancing downward. _Those shorts look good on him…Gah, don't make sibling awkwardness worse, Mabel! Noticing Dipper's bu—shorts is not what good twins do! Stop thinking about it and definitely don't say that out loud._ Mabel took a deep breath. _Okay, Mabel, play it cool. You were going to start pretending that awkwardness didn't happen tomorrow any way. Just do it half a day early._

"Hi, Dipper," Mabel's voice came out an octave too high— _so much for playing it cool_ , "How's your shorts, oh brother of mine?"

Dipper turned with a can of pit-cola in one hand and an amused smirk on his face, "How's my what, Mabel-dearest?"

Realizing her Freudian slip, Mabel flushed red and laughed nervously "Did I say shorts? I meant day! How's your day? I mean clearly day makes more sense."

Dipper's smirk transformed into a genuine smile as he took a step closer to her, just barely invading her personal space. Close enough to notice, but not close enough to give her reason to step away, "Better now that my precious sister is talking to me again. So, Mabel, how's your skirt?" Dipper's eyes flicked down to her purple miniskirt for a millisecond before dipping a bit lower to her thighs for another millisecond and then returning to her own eyes: all confidence.

 _Oh my god, he's_ _ **flirting**_ _with me! We were supposed to be pretending the awkwardness didn't happen. I slip up for one sentence and give him an opening and he takes us straight back to awkwardland, population: the Pines twins,_ "Oh, you know…comfy?" Mabel's blush was not fading.

"I'm glad. Being comfortable is a good thing; however, if we are willing to try new things eventually they will become comfortable for us too. Wouldn't you agree, Mabel?" Dipper spoke all this without his voice cracking once, which must have been a record for him.

"Yeah, of course. The first time I used a hot glue gun I accidentally caught the kitchen table on fire, but now I'm a hot glue master: my crafting is much improved," Mabel was relieved: Dipper was taking the conversation into safer waters.

"I'm glad you agree. We shouldn't stop trying new…experiences. You never know when a new experience will be something enjoyable," Dipper's eyes had slowly drifted down from her eyes till they rested on her lips as he was saying that. There they remained.

 _Did I say safer waters: I meant to say stranger waters,_ "Right on, Dipper," Mabel laughed nervously, "Whelp, I've got important things to do, so I'll just grab a quick snack and get back to it." Mabel blindly reached past Dipper to grab a pre-packaged snack off the table. Because Dipper was already so close to her this had the effect of bringing her deep into Dipper's personal space. Dipper made no attempt to hide his enjoyment of her closeness. A look of bliss shown through on his face. In fact he was even bold enough place a hand on her sweater clad shoulder and breathe in deeply the scent of her shampoo.

 _Didn't think that one through, huh, Mabel?_

Mabel grabbed the first bag off the table and fled.

"Bye Dipper," She squeaked as she retreated to the out of order rest room. Dipper's eyes followed her purple skirt out of the kitchen.

"Bye, my only love," Dipper answered to the now empty kitchen.

 _I think I might have overstepped my bounds: Mabel was definitely not ready for that kind of reckless flirting. Oh well, if I've poisoned the waters too much, all I have to do is put on a song and dance with Wendy and Mabel will rationalize this moment away. Just like she has done with every other time I've let slip my unending desire for her._

Dipper took his pit and climbed the stairs. The day was still young, and should his evening meeting with the shadow stalker go according to plan, he would want the covetous circle ready to go.

 _After all, we wouldn't want Mermando to wait too long for justice. Justice delayed is only a pale imitation of justice. Like arresting a Nazi war criminal in 2001: why bother? The man is 85 years old and has lived his whole life on borrowed time. Mermando will not get that luxury._

* * *

Mabel was close to hyperventilating as she sat on her newly pillowed toilet seat.

 _Okay, okay: Calm down, Mabel. So what if Dipper may have come on to you a little: it's not like he was being serious. His heart belongs to Wendy. It always has and it always will._

For some reason, Mabel's heart sank a little as she thought this. Mabel ignored the feeling and continued her train of thought.

 _Once Wendy finally pulls her head out of her teenaged butt, and realizes just how awesome my bro-bro is, they will make a good couple. I took compatibility quizzes from_ _Preteen Girl Magazine_ _for them and everything. If it weren't for the fact that Wendy is 3 years older than us, she and Dipper would have started dating weeks ago. Seriously, Wendy needs to get over herself. If I were Wendy I wouldn't let something as silly as a small age difference stop me from dating someone as brave as Dipper._

 _So what if Dipper has been acting strange lately: he's still a great guy. Sometimes I just want to grab Wendy and shake some sense into her. Sure, Dipper may be shorter than her, but he'll hit his growth spurt soon and then she'll be able to look up into his warm, brown eyes as the moon rises like in all those romance movies. She could have it all: the perfect summer romance has been practically gift wrapped for her, but instead she wastes her time on that emo-butt Robbie. It kinda ticks me off._

 _And look at me, I've been trying to have a summer romance for about a month now: and I keep running into romance dead ends. Between Gideon and the dozens of boys who wouldn't even tell me their names, I'm beginning to get discouraged. I mean Mermando's cool and all, but there's more to an epic summer romance than 2 days at a pool and becoming pen pals. I guess that's why I'm so blargged right now: I tried so hard for so long and am forced to settle for a pen pal romance, meanwhile Wendy has the perfect romance literally throwing himself at her_ _ **and she doesn't even notice.**_

 _If I had what Wendy has, I sure as heck wouldn't ignore it: I'd snatch a beautiful boy up in a heartbeat. Dipper deserves a girl who knows just how dorkingly awesome he is, but enough of that; I have my snack and I have my brain drain machine. It's time to stop thinking and start potatoing._

* * *

It was evening now. After wasting the whole day hiding out in the broken rest room, Mabel felt brave enough to venture out mainly because she really needed a bathroom that worked. At this moment in her life a functioning toilet would be appreciated. Also she had skipped her shower this morning and she was feeling particularly gross, but before she could bathe she really needed a change of clothes. Which is what brought her to hesitating outside the attic bedroom.

 _Why am I acting like a coward? Dipper is nothing to be afraid of: he is like the biggest dork in Gravity Falls. Anyway the sun had set, so it is jammie time in Mabel-land._

Mabel loved her jammies: they were the softest things she owned, and soft jammies were totally worth the risk of awkwardness with her favorite brother. With that decided Mabel boldly entered.

….Only to find the bedroom empty. Mabel couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

 _After all that time hiding away from him and psyching myself up to see him: Dipper isn't even here. I wonder where he is: he probably wouldn't even tell me if I asked. Dipper has become way too secretive. Sometimes I get the feeling he's afraid that I'll stop loving him, which is probably the dumbest thought he has ever had: Me, the lovingest girl of all time, stop loving her adorkable brother? How absurd. But I know Dipper: his insecurities make anything seem possible. And I probably fueled those insecurities by running away from some harmless teasing and a touch of awkwardness. He's probably off right know talking himself in circles trying to figure out if I hate him or not. He can be such an idiot._

 _Well, no more. I am no coward. The instant he gets home I'll apologize for being a butt and Dipper will give me that perfect half smile that I love so much and everything will be back to normal._

But before any of that could happen Dipper had to come home. And anyways Mabel really needed that shower: _Dipper deserves an apology from a pretty girl; not a grease monster._

* * *

Mabel felt refreshed after her glorious shower: _I feel like I can face anything._

She had finished drying her chestnut curls and brushing her teeth for the night before slipping on her purple night dress and fuzzy purple slippers.

Ready for bed, Mabel padded her way to the attic bedroom. As she approached the attic door, Mabel noticed a shadow moving across the crack at the bottom. _It looks like my disappearing broseph has returned from whatever adventure he was on._ Mabel grinned to herself. She didn't realize just how much she had missed Dipper until this moment. _Whelp, it was stupid to avoid him anyway, and the only way to cure missing someone is to spend time with them. So no more waiting: let's do this._

Mabel burst through the door eyes shining and a smile on her face, "Hey, Dipp-!" Mabel froze.

Dipper had just finished taking off his shorts and was bending over to pick them up off the floor: his vest and t-shirt were shed moments ago. Which meant that Mabel had just barged in on her brother who was currently dressed in what appeared to be a pair of black silk briefs.

 _Daaaannnnggg…when did he get those?_

Mabel found that she could not look away. _They sure are clingy. Dipper may be a toothpick, but I can already tell puberty is being kind to him…very kind._

Suddenly realizing the nature of the thoughts flowing through her head, Mabel felt a flush darken her cheeks. She shook her head half to clear the inappropriate thoughts away and half to force herself to look away.

Mabel heard Dipper chuckle at her reaction. _Oh laugh it up, Dipping sauce. You're the one who is supposed to be mortified. Instead I have enough mortification for the both of us. Well, if you're going to pretend that this is an okay situation then I'll just have to beat you at your own game. I am the alpha twin, not you._

Mabel looked right back at Dipper and noted that other than a slight reddening of his face Dipper didn't seem all too concerned by the fact that he was caught by his sister with his pants down. He still had made no move to cover himself up.

 _You wanna be confident, Dipper? Then I'll just have to be ten times as confident._

"Nice underwear, broseph. Where did you get them from? Hot Topic?" Mabel wanted to be mildly sarcastic, but it was only after the words came out that Mabel realized that they were disturbingly sincere even if there was a chuckle hidden behind them.

"Actually, I conjured them myself," Dipper spoke smoothly, "The whitey tighties mom bought me were by far too dorky."

"Wha…I didn't realize your magic junk could make real stuff…and what does it matter how dorky your underwear is? It only matters if someone is gonna….Dipper! You scallywag!" Mabel had an epiphany.

"And why am I a scallywag, Mabel dearest?" Dipper was curious.

"You made those sexy underwear, because you are planning to seduce a girl. You made them cause you want them to be seen: you scallywag!" Mabel was certain, then a thought occurred to her, "And what's worse you kept it all to yourself: yet another stupid secret. Come on, Dipper, we're twins. We share everything. You gotta tell me who your crush is! Who did you make the underwear for? Did you make them for Wendy?"

Now Dipper's eyes shifted away from her own, "They're for no one. I just wanted briefs that were comfortable…"

Mabel saw a look of guilt flash across Dipper's face. _He's lying._

"I know your fibbing Dipper. Now spill: who are you crushing on?" Mabel approached Dipper and continued pressing for the truth. _Come'on Dipper, no more twin secrets._

"Leave it alone, Mabel…" An edge of panic was develop in Dipper's mind: _You aren't ready yet, Mabel. You don't love me…yet._

"I'm not gonna give up, Dipper," Mabel grabbed Dipper's shoulders— _hmmm, it seems puberty has been here: I swear his shoulders are like a whole millimeter broader._ "Now don't make me tickle you: who's your crush!"

Mabel's closeness had swept Dipper's panic into a frenzy. His whole world now consisted of a Mabel who was not ready for the truth demanding the truth anyway. All he could see was the question in Mabel's soft brown eyes. All he could feel was Mabel's warm, warm hands on his naked shoulders. All he could smell was her freshly shampooed chestnut hair. He was overwhelmed by her. He was confused by her. He was intoxicated by her.

"Who's your crush, Dipper!" Mabel did not realize the storm she had invoked in Dipper's shattered mind. She pressed on. "Tell me now!"

"…As if you could ever be just a simple crush, Mabel!" Dipper finally answered.

"Wha-?" Mabel was cut off by Dipper forcefully claiming her mouth with his.

Mabel was a little dazed by this unexpected turn of events. Distantly, Mabel was aware of Dipper's left hand holding the back of her head in place—fingers tangled in her soft hair that was still puffy from the hairdryer. Dipper's right hand was on the small of her back pressing her needfully into him. His lips were doing things to her mouth that would make the author of _Wolfman Bare Chest_ blush.

 _I think I might be kissing him back…I probably shouldn't be doing that._

Suddenly, everything that Mabel was distantly noting became not so distant and very real very fast. Mabel felt the muscles of Dipper's thin shoulders under her clutching hands. Mabel felt Dipper's own grasping hands in her hair and on her waist. She felt his chest pressing through her thin night to her own. Dipper tore his mouth from her swollen lips and looked at her with lust burning eyes and Mabel just knew her eyes looked the same. For a brief moment Mabel thought this weird thing was over and she was surprised to find that she was disappointed. Then Dipper brought his mouth to her neck—disappointment gone.

Mabel tried to choke back a wanton moan as Dipper continued to love her neck. She was partially successful; it only came out as a whimper, "Dipper…ah, Dipper."

He smelt of pine trees and smoke and adventure. _Thank god he doesn't smell like a fish. That would be the most unromantic thing in the world. Fish scents are gross…fish, fish…Mermando! I've only been dating Mermando a few days and I'm cheating on him…he's only a pen-pal boyfriend though. No, bad Mabel! No rationalizing! The principle stands. You_ _ **have**_ _to stop this._

Her heart broke a little as she pushed him away. And judging by the look in his eyes his did too.

"I'm sorry, Dipper. We can't do this. I have a boyfriend…and, I'm your sister," Mabel added the last part on almost as an afterthought. She couldn't look at him when she said this. She didn't want to see how badly she was hurting him.

"Of course…sister dear," Mabel didn't have to look at him to know. She could hear the tears he was holding back in his voice. "I'll…I'll go take my shower."

Mabel still couldn't look at him as he grabbed his towel and left the room.

She heard the door close behind her. Her emotions were such a mess that she didn't know what she was feeling as she padded to her bed. She climbed in and clutched one of her favorite stuffed animals to her chest. One thing became painfully clear: she would much rather be holding Dipper as she fell asleep.

 _Oh god, I'm sick._

Mabel quietly cried herself to sleep holding her stuffed animal wishing desperately that it was Dipper.

* * *

Author's note: there you have it, chapter three. This chapter did not turn out how I initially envisioned. The last part was supposed to be just another moment of awkwardness, but then Mabel demanded that she confront Dipper about it. I kept telling Mabel that she needed to let it go, but she insisted on answers. Then Dark!Dipper said that he was backed into a corner, and he had to **do** something. And do something he did.


	4. Chapter 4: A Special Sort of Monster

Chapter 4 is brought to you by spring break. Yay for vacations.

Tolerating No Rivals

Chapter 4

 _A special sort of monster_

Dipper stood under the stream of water that was so hot it was nearly scalding. He preferred his showers that way: it felt like he was burning the weakness from his body, but this time the heat of the water served a second purpose: to distract himself from Mabel's rejection.

It wasn't working. Every time he closed his eyes he saw that look of sadness and regret in Mabel's soulful, brown eyes and her voice would ring in his ears. Soft spoken words of rejection, _because she has a_ _ **boyfriend**_ _. As if that half human could ever deserve that title._

Steam was filling the bathroom, and Dipper's skin was beginning to slightly redden from the heat of a water, yet still he continued to stand there glaring at the wall. Dipper felt his sorrow transform to anger: it always did. It had been years since he had been able to feel sadness without it mingling with some form rage.

"I hate him **so much** ," Dipper punctuated the statement by slamming the side of his fist into the tiled wall. Dipper squeezed his eyes shut and focused on his breathing in an attempt to calm himself. Sometimes is worked. Other times it didn't. This time it failed miserably.

"That fucking merman! He'll pay for this," Dipper scowled.

 _Mermando is not the only one to blame for this._ A treacherous corner of Dipper's mind whispered to him.

Dipper's breath came out in short gasps. "No, no. It's the freak's fault."

 _That's rich: calling Mermando a freak. Look in the mirror._

"Mermando's the freak, not me!" Dipper whisper screamed.

 _Deny it as much as you like, but you already know the truth: Mabel wasn't ready for your affections and you forced them upon her anyway._

"That's not true. Mabel was responding to me: I would never force her to do anything!" Dipper tried to counter his own mutinous mind.

 _Bullshit. Mabel was smiling after Mermando kissed her. That is what real love looks like: Mabel smiling. Need I remind you what she looked like after you showed your vulgar perversion of love to her?_

His conscience pulled up Mabel's crestfallen face, tears gathered in the corner of her beautiful eyes.

 _She wasn't ready, and you forced your unworthy mouth upon hers. You placed your disgusting hands upon her perfect body. You_ _ **violated**_ _her, Dipper._

"Shut up, you liar," Dipper sank defeated to the bathtub floor.

 _You lack control: just like your father. But then again your father never sexually assaulted you, so maybe you are even worse than him._

"I fucking hate you so much," Dipper hugged his knees to his chest, and choked back a sob. He had already cried earlier today, and dammit he refused to cry again.

 _I know, and I hate you too._

 _Oh, and before you even consider making a plan to undo the damage you did, I'll just point out that all those smoke and mirrors with Wendy won't work this time at all. Mabel isn't going to be able to rationalize away your disgusting affections._

* * *

Mabel was pretending to sleep by the time Dipper returned to the room. Dipper knew she was faking it, and he suspected that Mabel was aware that he knew.

 _Let us have the illusion of peace, if only for a moment._

Dipper ran a hand through his still wet hair. His breakdown in the shower put him way over the 10 minute time limit that Grunkle Stan had imposed on day one of their summer vacation.

 _Not that it matters. My dear, old Grunkle Stan is way too focused on his science project in the basement to notice something as meaningless as a long shower. Besides I needed it to get my head on straight. I need to stay focused on the task at hand: killing that Merman. After removing him from the picture, then and only then can I get back to winning Mabel's heart._

 _The path into Mabel's arms will be long and difficult._ Dipper reviewed the conclusion he reached after recovering from his breakdown. _Nothing good is ever easy to attain, and considering how perfect Mabel is and how imperfect I am, I must anticipate setbacks. But once I have Mabel's arms wrapped around me, I will be able to look back on these trials with a level of fondness._

Dipper climbed into bed and pulled off his t-shirt having found relatively recently that he slept better without it.

 _Tomorrow I'll put my 15 step plan into action. Tomorrow Mermando will pay._

Dipper pulled up his blanket, closed his eyes, and focused on his breathing. During one of his many retreats into the sanctuary of the library years ago, Dipper had found a book on meditation. After years of abuse, Dipper found that meditating just prior to sleep significantly reduced the incidence of nightmares. So it became a nightly ritual for him.

It was one of the few things keeping him sane.

Then an image of Mermando being impaled on a giant fishing hook flashed into Dipper's mind. Dipper smiled.

Well, mostly sane at least.

* * *

Dipper awoke late in the morning to find that Mabel had already fled the bedroom. Normally Mabel would joyously bounce him awake as soon as she herself got up.

It actually hurt a little that she forwent her usual wake up call. Dipper swallowed his sadness down into his stomach, and there it would remain till that glorious day in the future when Mabel will return love for love and sadness will be banished from the two of them forever.

 _That day cannot come soon enough. But even in this cursed moment of alienation, there is some perverted version of a blessing: now I can focus on causing a war to make Mermando pay recompense for his misdeeds._

Dipper fantasized about the discord he was about to unleash: the screams of hundreds of those… creatures as the tenuous peace is broken and an army of fierce warriors invades their once restive city.

Dipper shivered with anticipation.

 _Everything is in place. I have the covetous curse which is now focused to the merman species and the knowledge on which species can do the most damage. Now is the time to act. Now is the time to free Mabel from that unnatural freak's affections._

 _Years from now, Mabel will thank me for doing this. I know she will._

Dipper stood back from the Covetous Circle he had painted onto the forest clearing in ink mixed with the blood of a virgin. Luckily magic doesn't care about the quantity of blood. All Dipper needed was a small amount, so he had one of the gnomes still a couple vials of blood from the pediatric ward of the nearest hospital. By now, some lab technician will have reported that a patient's blood sample did not make it to the laboratory, and a doctor will simply order a new blood draw.

Blood samples go missing all the time. The doctor will probably assume that a nurse sent it to a wrong department at the end of her 18 hour shift.

Dipper wasn't necessarily afraid of getting his hands dirty should the situation call for it, but why draw attention to himself by acquiring the blood himself when by far simpler solutions were readily available?

At three specific locations, Dipper placed three items he had acquired through the services of a peculiar lake creature who went by the name of Crup. This Crup creature is part of a race of sentient frogs who pride themselves of being the best thieves on land or in water. At least that is what the Journal said. Dipper didn't know about the 'on land' part, but Crup had proven himself to be thoroughly competent within the realm of the lake.

All three of these items came from the royal court of the Manatees. The first item was a gold plated vessel for fermented seaweed, which was the alcoholic beverage of choice among the elites of the lake. Crup stated that it belonged to the Manatee King himself. The second item was an ornate pillow, which according to Crup had belonged to the Manatee King's advisor. The third item was a tiara, which once belonged to the King's daughter.

Once this complete, Dipper place a fourth and final item in the center of the focusing array. Dipper grinned: _Mermando will only know that he sealed his own fate by bottle-mailing Mabel a lock of his hair when I am choking the life out of him._

It was happenstance that Dipper found himself in the twins' bathroom when a bottle bubbled up from the toilet containing the means to exact his revenge.

Dipper had at first sneered at this vain display of 'love' Mermando had sent his Mabel and at how fitting it was that this 'gift' had come through the toilet, but then Dipper realized that some form of providence was at work here. Dipper by that point knew that he needed something of the Merfolk's royalty to make the focusing array work: what better than a lock off the head of the Mer-king's son?

 _Now all I have to do is invoke the curse and the Manatee royalty will covet the depths of the Merfolk. Then comes the war. Then comes steps 3 through 14, which will culminate with Step 15: me choking the life from that shitty, little fish._

Dipper stepped back and took off his hat and vest before putting on his hood and cape. These he had made himself from imbuing spider silk with the magic of his amulet. Doing so his research told him would allow the wearer better access to the amulet's power. It was not without risk: prolonged wearing of the cape would exhaust the caster's physical and emotional strength. Leaving him weak and vulnerable.

 _Better make this quick then._

Dipper placed the amulet around his neck and took a centering breath.

" **Concupisces domum proximi tui. Omne quod desiderat anima per vim.** " As Dipper spoke the ink of the circle glowed a magenta color. Just as he finished the curse blue flames engulfed all for items: consuming them completely. Then it was done: the curse was cast and nothing could undo it.

Dipper stumbled back from the circle feeling completely drained, but also a little euphoric.

 _One step closer to freeing Mabel from that monster._

Dipper pulled the cape from his shoulders: folding it carefully before sitting down on the forest floor to gather his strength.

 _Crup had better be timely with his report on the Manatee troop movements. I'm paying him a small fortune in gold nuggets for that information._

Dipper sighed and closed his eyes. _It'll will probably be a couple days before anything happens, so there is no rush. I'll just rest a little bit. I feel worn thin: like all my muscles have eroded to nothing._

 _I would suffer any affliction for you, Mabel. I hope you will never doubt that._

Dipper felt tears well up in the corners of his eyes.

 _It's just the emotional backlash from using the cape._

At least, that is what Dipper wanted to believe.

* * *

It was midday by the time Dipper found the strength to get up and stumble back to the shack. He only hoped that half the day would be enough for Mabel to be able to face him again. The emotional backlash was much worse than he had expected. (Of course, that made sense: he had never used the cape to perform such a dark and dangerous curse before.), and Dipper desperately needed Mabel's bright and cheery disposition to help his recovery.

But of course Dipper found upon his return to the Shack that Mabel had still not come back from wherever she had disappeared off to that morning.

 _Figures. Whatever I need I shall not receive. Oh well, I feel like I've just run two marathons, but at least I've got my emotions back into some semblance of control._

Dipper looked up the stairs, and sighed wearily, "Why can't my bed be right next to the door?"

"Kid, you are way too young to be asking that question especially in that world weary tone," Grunkle Stan spoke up from his place in the armchair. He took a sip from a diet Pitt, "Why don't you have a seat on the couch and tell me what's eating you."

Dipper bit back a groan, _I really don't have the energy for this, Stan._

But Dipper knew that open defiance would just invite more scrutiny, so he gathered what little strength he had left and turned away from the stairs—and his waiting bed—towards the living room and his inevitable interrogation.

Dipper settled into the old as dirt couch and had to fight the urge to just close his eyes and sleep.

Dipper turned and meet Stan's eyes confidently, "Well, Grunkle. You have a captive audience, so do tell: what exactly do you think is 'eating me'?"

"Don't try to con a conman, kid. I asked the question first," Grunkle Stan's frown deepened marginally.

 _That is twice in just as many days that I've failed to weasel my way out of answering difficult questions. But perhaps a few half-truths will serve the same purpose._

"Well, you know, Grunkle Stan. I recently got fired from being the assistant life guard at the pool. I've never been fired before, and—well—events at the pool hit me rather hard," There was technically nothing false about what Dipper had just said. Nothing hit harder than watching Mermando lay his unworthy lips on his Mabel.

Grunkle Stan was silent as he simply continued to stare into Dipper's eyes, and Dipper boldly kept his eyes level with Stan's.

After about 30 seconds of silence Stan spoke, "I know how to tell when someone is overcompensating for a lie, Dipper, and you most definitely are."

Dipper felt his heart freeze. _How the fuck did he know?_

Grunkle Stan saw the question in his eyes, and decided to have mercy on the poor kid.

"A liar's eyes dart away from other's eyes in a spit second, kid. Everyone knows that," Stan chuckled to himself, "It's because of this that an overcompensating liar will force eye contact to last way longer than it naturally does. No one stares into someone's eyes for longer than 20 seconds comfortably. Not if they aren't completely infatuated, and I know that isn't the case. Ergo, you're lying."

Dipper started to say something, but Stan cut him off, "Don't try to deny it, kid. I'm the best liar there is: it's why I found you out so quickly. Now, speak honestly: what's eating you?"

Dipper was quiet for a moment as he weighed his options, but he knew in his heart that he was at a dead end in the lie department and in actuality the truth was weighing heavy on his mind. Dipper felt bile rise in the back of his throat. He had decided.

"Mabel has a boyfriend," Dipper spoke.

"Again? Mabel really flies through 'em," Stan responded, "But even though you didn't handle the first one very well, you didn't look quite so nauseated then as this time around. So what's different with this boyfriend?"

Dipper sneered, "This time I know without a doubt that he is completely unworthy of Mabel."

"And what makes him unworthy?"

Dipper got up and started pacing, "For one he is a goddam pretty boy who would never be able to protect Mabel."

"Isn't that a perk? If he ever hurts Mabel, you and me would have no problem kicking his teeth in?" Stan asked half joking.

The joke only agitated Dipper even more, "No, no. He isn't able nor is he willing to protect Mabel." Dipper had raised his voice a little.

"How do you know he isn't willing? They only started dating like a day ago if your reaction is anything to go by. That is a really short time frame to judge a person on," Stan asked.

"I can just tell he could never make the sacrifice for Mabel," Dipper spoke hotly, "Mabel deserves someone who will put her first!"

"Maybe someday Mabel's boyfriend will learn to sacrifice for her," Stan countered, "I mean you've had years of putting Mable first. It takes time to learn these things."

"Don't you dare compare him to me," Dipper turned away.

"Why not? Your both important boys in Mabel's life," Stan pushed further, "Why can't this boy learn to sacrifice for Mabel's happiness just like you?"

Dipper whirled around seeing red.

"He could never sacrifice as much as I already have!" Dipper shouted.

Silence grew thick between them.

Stan set his diet pitt on the end table next to his armchair, and sighed deeply.

"Listen, kid. We could go through the whole song and dance about how you've sacrificed for Mabel, and you'll probably come up with a million lies to cover it all up, so let's just cut to the chase," Grunkle Stan met Dipper's eyes with his own.

"Dipper, I know."

Dipper felt as if the rug were pulled out from under him. A pit opened up in his stomach.

"How long have you known?" It came out a ragged whisper.

"I've known since the instant I saw you coming off the bus. You set your suitcase down and helped Mabel with her own. And then you looked up and I saw it in your eyes, and I knew," Stan replied.

"You've known all this time, but you haven't called the cops," Dipper stated.

"And why should I? There are evil people in this world, and sometimes you have to do evil things to protect the people you love from those evil people," Stan breathed before continuing, "Let me ask you something, Dipper: do you really think your bastard father was the only child beater in this fucked up family?"

Dipper observed his Grunkle closely and for the first time noticed just how old and worn down he appeared. "I guess I always thought he was a special sort of monster."

Stan gave a mirthless laugh, "Kid, we're monsters all the way back."

Grunkle Stan took off his glasses, and looked at Dipper.

Dipper felt like he was looking in a mirror that showed 60 years into the future. Grunkle Stan's eyes had the same look as his own.

"A word of advice, Dipper. When you kill: make damn sure the mark deserves it, and make sure you're doing it to protect someone else. Your soul will still be stained, but at least you'll still be able to sleep at night."

* * *

And end chapter 4. As always reviews on what you liked and didn't like are appreciated.


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